Shoe press



Nov. 25, 1958 6,1 RALPHS 2,861,283

SHOE PRESS Filed July 7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor I ttorney Nov. 25, 1958 1", s 2,861,283

. SHOE PRESS Filed July 7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "I'll,

I" 9 IA .Q\ IIIIIIIIIIIII/ Inventor ltorney United States Patent snon PRESS George Trevor Ralphs, Oadby, Leicestershire, England, assignor to The Ralphs Engineering Company Limited, Leicester, England Application July 7, 1953, Serial No. 366,409

12 Claims. (01. 1238) This invention concerns those shoe presses which are employed in the manufacture of boots, shoes and like articles of footwear (hereinafter referred to for the sake of convenience as shoes) for sticking on soles (i. e. in what is known as stuck on work) and for temporarily attaching soles by adhesive (i. e. sole'laying) when the permanent attachment is to be effected by other means, of the type comprising a fluid tight distendable pad or bag adapted to contain fluid under pressure and a clamping member between which bag and clamping member a lasted component (consisting of the lasted upper and a sole member) are located with the sole member presented to a flexible surface of the bag, pressure being applied to the lasting component either by movement of the clamping member towards the pad or by forcing fluid into the bag. In the ensuing specification such a machine is referred to as a shoe press of the type specified.

As is well-known, the lasts employed in the manufacture of shoes having a varying contour to their undersurface depending upon the height of heel to be employed in the finished shoe and an object of this invention is to effect such improvements in shoe presses of the type specified as will permit their use in the manufacture of shoes whereof the lasts have varying contours as above described.

For this purpose the invention provides a shoe press of the type specified, having means for adjusting the bag to adapt it to lasts having heels of varying heights. This adjustment is best effected by the provision of means for varying the height of an intermediate part in the length of the bag in relation to the heights of the two end parts. It will readily be appreciated that by adjusting the bag in this manner it can readily be caused to exercise the appropriate pressure on the sole member irrespective of the contour of the under-surface of the last.

Preferably the bag has its margins gripped between upper and lower stiffeners which stitfeners are arranged to permit the bag to flex at least at one transverse flexure location. In effect the bag is capable of hinging movement along a transverse line. For this purpose it is preferred that the stifleners shall be interrupted at said location.

The above and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the construction which will now be described, as a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 7 V

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe press incorporating a pad or bag construction according to the invention; 1 a

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the bag and associated parts;

7 Figure 3 is a part sectional plan view of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a considerably enlarged detail view of adjusting means;

2,861,283 Patented Nov. 25, 1958 The improved pressure pad construction in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the drawings by way of example as being applied to a shoe press in which the clamping member to engage the lasting component is first set and locked in position and the pressure then applied to the lasting component by forcing fluid into the bag. The bag assembly is however equally applicable to other forms of shoe presses wherein the bag is first filled with fluid (either air or preferably liquid as oil) and the pressure is afterwards applied to the lasted component when in position on the bag by urging the clamping member towards the bag. It is in fact contemplated that with the latter form of press and the clamping member operated hydraulically the present bag assembly will be particularly well suited to use for attaching soles with the aid of modern quick-setting cements. In certain respects the shoe press illustrated resembles known presses in that in addition to the bag 1 and the means for supplying fluid thereto, it has a clamping arm 2 above the bag 1 movable between an upper inoperative position which the arm occupies when the lasted component is to be inserted and/or withdrawn and a lower operative position which it occupies after the lasted component has been inserted and while the fluid is forced into the bag. Any suitable means may be provided for moving the arm 2 between its two positions and a detent 3 is also provided for locking the arm 2 in its operative position. For one construction of such arm 2 moving means and detent 3 reference may be made to British patent specification No. 645,861. The arm 2 carries two pressure devices or clamping members 4, 5 which engage the lasted component, one device 4 engaging the Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of nozzle means for the bag.

top of the last and the other 5 engaging the vamp or instep portion thereof; these clamping devices may be adjustable for height.

The bag 1 consists of upper and lower layers 6, 7 of rubber the margins of which are secured together by being vulcanised, with a top layer 8 of flexible leather which makes contact with the sole member of the lasted component. These three layers 6, 7, 8 of material have their margins gripped between metal stiffeners or reinforcing members 9, 10. The top stiffener 9 consists of a band of metal which extends around and lies on the top margin of the leather sheet 8. The bottom stiffener 10 is of trough-like formation having an outturned flange 11 at the top of its peripheral walls 12 to match thetop stifiener 9 and to lie underneath the margin of the bag 1; bolts or rivets 13 extend between the upper and lower stiifeners 9, 10 through the material of the bag 1. a

In order that the bag 1 may flex or hinge so that the height of an intermediate part 14 in its length may be varied in relation to the heights of its two end parts 15, 16 'the stitfeners 9, 10 are interrupted or split along two transverse lines in the formation of joints 17, 18. It will thus be clear that the bag 1 may hinge along these lines or joints 17, 18 but in order to reinforce the bag 1 at the locations where it flexes (or joints 17, 18) there is also an underlying sheet of leather 19 (Figures 2, 4 and 5) which is disposed between the underside of the bag 1 and thebottom stifiener 10'and extends over the two joints 17, 18.

In the plan form the bag 1 (Figure 3) resembles an oval or an elongated letter D, its longitudinal line of symmetry being immediately beneath the longitudinal centre of the clamping arm. At its front end 20, that is to say the end which is directed towards the operator in use and which is substantially below the free end of the clamping arm 2, the bottom stiffener 10 rests on rigid supports 21. The front end 22 of the middle section 23 of the bottom stiffener 10 rests in the vicinity of the front joint 17 upon a fulcrum; at the rear end 24 of the bag 1 the rear section 25 of the bottom stiffener 10 rests on one or more rollers 26, while in the vicinity of the rear joint 18 the bottom stiffener 10 is provided with a vertically-adjustable centre support 27. It will, therefore,- be appreciated that by for example lowering this support 27. the bag 1 may be caused to flex in the regions of the joints 1?. 18. an assume a. downwar ly curved form, to ad p the bag to the contour of the under-surface of the lasted component. In this movement of the support 27 the front end 22 of the middle section 2.3 of the bottom stiff ener 10 moves slightly with relation to the roller or rollers 26. p

The adjustable central support 27 may be moved up and down in any suitable manner and preferably it is adjustable by screw means actuated by a manual operating device 29 accessibly placed at the front of the machine for operation by the worker. Conveniently the centre support 27 consists of a mushroom, cheese or rectangular head on an upper end of a vertical leadscrew 28 on which there is a suitable nut 30 rotatable by the operating device, said head extending through a slot 52 in the machine frame 51, and the screw being cont ain to o e vertica ly only- The operating fluid (which maybe air or liquid) for distending the bag 1 is admitted to the latter through a suitable inlet connection 31 at the underside of the 'bag 1 in known manner. When the operating fluid is a liquid, oil will be used for preference and in this case the two layers 6 and 7 will be formed of synthetic oil resist ing material, for example Hycar rubber. For liquid operation the bag will be provided with a blee'der outlet of usual form. V

The operation of the clamping arm 2 and of its detent or locking device 3, and the admission of fluid to and exhaust from the bag may be controlled as in the aforesaid patent specification.

For the purpose of' controlling the movement of said rear part 25, there may be a hook like lug 32 projecting from under the lower stiffener 10 and embracing the pivot 31 (mounted in brackets 50 on the machine frame 51) of the rollers 26 (see Figures 3 and 4);. A similar hooked lug 33 may project from under the lower stiffener 10 into an undercut recess 33a in the head 27. This head 27 may be raised and lowered from the hand turned wheel 29 through the medium of a chain 34 and sprockets 35, 36; the nut 30 may be a flanged sleeve fitting in a further flanged sleeve 43 (Figure 4) which is itself fitted to a plate 44 bolted to the machine frame 51. The head 27 may operate an indicator through the medium of a lever 38 pivoted at 39 and having one end 40 connected to the head 27 and the other end having a pointer 41 co-operating with a scale 42. The inlet connection 31 (Figure 5) may consist of a flanged metal nozzle 45 on which one end of a flexible pipe is fixed and which has a sealed connection, by screw parts 46 on the nozzle 45, with the lower layer 7 of the bag 1 and is held stationary by screw means 47 on the nozzle 45, connecting it to the lower stiffener 10.

The said hand wheel 29, sprocket 35 and a fixing screw 54 for connecting the lower stifiener 10 to the machine frame 51 may be associated with a slotted plate 55 fixed to the stiffener 10 over an aperture 56 therein.

What I claim is:

1. A shoe press comprising a distendible bag, means for varying the height of an intermediate portion of the bag between its ends to adapt it to lasts having heels of different heights and means for gripping the bag along its entire marginal length between upper and lower stiffeners arranged to permit the bag to flex at least atone transverse flexure location thus forming at least one transverse flexible joint.

2. A shoe press according to claim 1, wherein the, bag consists. of upper and lower layers of rubber, the margins of which are. seamed together by being vulcanised, with a top layer of flexible leather which makes contact with the sole member of the lasted component.

3. A shoe press according to claim 1 in which the upper stifliener consists of a band of metal which extends around and lies on the top margin of a superimposed leather sheet and the lower stiffener is of trough-like formation having an out-turned flange at the top of its peripheral walls to match the top stiffener and to lie underneath the margin of the bag, the parts being fixed together by bolts.

4. A shoepress according to claim 3 having the stiff,- eners interrupted or split along two transverse lines forming two transverse flexible joints and three longitudinal portions.

5. A shoe press according to claim 4 in which the said three longitudinal portions have one end portion relatively stationary, the other end rockable about a transverse fulcrum intermediate its ends, and a flexible joint between the intermediate portion and each end portion.

6. A shoe press according to claim 5 having adjusting means constituted by a vertically adjustable support under the joint between the intermediate portion of the bag and the rockable portion.

7. A, shoe press according to claim 5 having the fulcrum formed by roller means on which, the rockable portion of the bag rides.

8. A shoe press aocordingto claim 6 having the adjusting means constituted further by a manually operable adjusting screw and a, movable connection between it and the vertically adjustable support, for raising and lowering said vertically adjustable support by turning the screw. I

9. A shoe press according to claim 6 having an indicator operated by the adjusting means.

10. A shoe press according to claim 9 having a hand turned member connected by motion transmitting means to the vertically adjustable support for operationv of the latter at a location spaced therefrom.

11. A shoe press of the type specified comprising a bag capable of flexing about two transverse axes and inflatable through a fixed nozzle, a manually adjustable support device connected to the bag under one of said axes, and a scale indicator operable by the manually adjustable support, said bag consisting of'upper and lower layers secured together by vulcanization at their margins.

12. In or for a shoe press of the type specified, a bag assembly comprising a bag, upper and lower stiffeners between which the margins of the bag are gripped, which stiifeners are divided on a plurality of transverse lines to permit the bag to flex at transverse flexure locations and to sub-divide the bag into a plurality of longitudinal portions including end portions and an intermediate portion, a base on which the bag and stiifeners are mounted, means tiltably mounting one end portion of the bagjand the contiguous intermediate portion of the bag on said base for raising and lowering movements of the transverse flexure line formed and located between said end. portion and said intermediate portion with relation to the opposite end portion and means for efiecting such tilting and said raising and lowering movements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,789,599 Ruhr et a1. Jan, 20, 1931 2,018,808 Ricks Oct. 29, 19 35 2,080,036v Finn i May 11, 1937 2,228,467 Madan i Jan. 14, 1941 2,356,756 Finn Aug. 29 1944 2,423,878 Dawson, July 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 622,393 Germany Nov. 27,, 1935 887,261 France Aug, 9 1943 

